Tea + Cookies: Creating Holiday Traditions

Create sweet memories with these no-bake Chocolate Snowball Cookies. They’re easy to make and pair beautifully with our Golden Chai tea.

I have many holiday tradition memories. Listening to my dad’s copy of “A Music Box Christmas” and the Nutcracker Ballet were always highlights of our tree decorating party. Just hearing the first few notes of any of the themes from that particular masterpiece brings me back to the feeling of being a wide-eyed kid basking in the magic of colorful lights and pine-scented air.

Many of my favorite food-related memories revolve around Christmas cookies and treats. Along with my siblings, I’d plan cookie decorating contests that would have us all vying for the “fanciest” frosting on our star and snowman-shaped sugar cookies. With my mom, I’d bake loaf after loaf of sweet cranberry bread to gift to neighbors, friends, and teachers. I have Norwegian and Scandinavian roots, and have fond memories of learning how to make traditional treats like krumkake and lefse and rosettes with my Grandmother.

Now, living far away from family, it’s up to me to make my own holiday traditions while keeping favorites from my childhood alive. Even in a tropical climate and without an oven, I still make Christmas cookies to share with friends, like these chocolate “snowball” treats. They’re not the most traditional Christmas cookies, but they’re simple to make and share, with ingredients you’ll likely have on hand.

They’re also extremely nostalgic for me — these cookies were made by my mom growing up, and they were one of the first treats I learned how to make myself.

I love the combination of a good, strong, spicy chai with anything gooey and chocolatey. My favorite tea-plus-cookie combination in these little morsels and a very hot mug of Numi’s Golden Chai.

Chocolate Snowball Cookies

 

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Author: Hannah Theisen

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

• 1.5 c. quick-cook oats
• 1 c. shredded coconut (sweetened) (reserve ½ cup more for rolling)
• ⅓ c. butter
• 1 c. sugar
• ¼ c. milk (I used almond or coconut)
• 3 tbsp. cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Mix coconut and oats; set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, mix butter, sugar, milk, cocoa, and salt.
3. Melt together over low heat, stirring briskly with a whisk.
4. Allow the liquid to reach a boil, and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Pour over coconut and oats and stir to combine.
6. Allow mixture to cool until just able to handle, then quickly roll into balls and roll in extra coconut.
7. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

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